The Path of Duty, and Other Stories eBook

We remained for two months in our lonely home, after
the death of my mother; at the end of which time the
new owner took possession of the dwelling. Aunt
Patience had decided upon going to reside with a relative
who lived in Massachusetts, and the interest of the
money, deposited for her use, was to be regularly
remitted to her. We disposed of the furniture,
with the exception of a few cherished articles, which
I reserved for myself; these the purchaser kindly
allowed me to leave in one of the upper rooms till
I might wish to remove them. The same day that
Aunt Patience set out on her journey to Massachusetts,
I returned to Mrs. Leighton.

CHAPTER IX.

Friendlyattentions.

It was well for me that my mind was actively employed;
had it been otherwise I should have continually brooded
over my sorrows. As it was, when engaged with
my duties in the school-room, my thoughts would wander
to those two graves in the church-yard, and my tears
would fall upon the book from which I was listening
to a recitation from my pupils. Georgania having
left home, I had only Birdie and Lewis as pupils.
Much pity did those affectionate children evince for
me when they could not but observe my grief.
Birdie would often say,—­

“Please, Miss Roscom, do not grieve so much;
we all love you dearly, and will be very kind to you.”

And Lewis, who could never bear to see my tears, would
say,—­

“I will be a little brother to you, Miss Roscom,
so please don’t cry any more.”

To please my pupils, I endeavored to appear cheerful;
but truly the heart knoweth its own bitterness.
One thought, however, afforded me some consolation,
and that was, that I was obeying my mother’s
dying injunction, by striving to do my duty in the
position in which I was placed. As days and months
passed away, I, in some measure, regained my usual
cheerfulness, although I was nowise inclined to forget
my mother.

A year had now passed since I saw her laid in the
grave. I often visited her resting-place, and
there I renewed my resolve to follow her precepts;
and many a time, kneeling by her grave did I implore
wisdom from on high to enable me to follow the counsels
I had so often received from those lips, now sealed
in silence. It seemed to me, at such times, that
I almost held communion with the spirit of my mother.

I experienced much kindness from every member of Mr.
Leighton’s family. I spent my leisure time
mostly in my room. They did not, of course, invite
me to join parties, but they would often urge me to
join a few friends in their own parlor; but I always
replied that my deep mourning must be my excuse.
I had no taste for company or mirth.